Syrian Forces Storm Aleppo to Release Abducted Lebanese, Nasrallah Warns Against Opportunism

Friends of Syria
May 22, 2012

12 Lebanese citizens were abducted by the Free Syrian Army in the region of Ajaj in Aleppo.

In details, the Free Syrian Army arrested the “Badr al-Kobra” bus that was carrying 50 Lebanese citizens coming back from a visit to the holy sites in Iran. The Army pulled the 7 men off of the bus, leaving 43 women onboard, allowing them to continue their driving to Lebanon.

As soon as residents learned of the incident, they closed several roads with burning tires in Dahiyeh, they rallied at the Bir al-Abed – Cinderella Intersection, cut off a number of roads, burned tires in front of Mar Mikhael Church in Chiyah and broke the windows of cars parked alongside.

The names of the abducted are as follows: head of the “Badr al-Kobra” campaign Abbas Cheaib, Hassan Mahmoud, Mehdi Ballout, Hussain al-Seblani, Ali Abbas, Abou Ali Saleh, Hussain Omar, Mustafa Yassin, Ali Zgheib, Awad Ibrahim, Ali al-Ahmar, Ali Safa,  Rabih Zgheib and Ali Termos. Preparations are underway to hold a sit-in outside the Imam Al Kazem compound in solidarity with the abducted Lebanese citizens in Aleppo.

Later in the evening, Syrian forces launched raids with tanks and other armoured vehicles in the town of Ajaj, in Aleppo near the place where the Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped.

The British-based group’s head, Rami Abdulrahman, said people in Ajaj had told him Syrian forces were combing some of the districts.

Commenting on the abduction, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said that the commands of Hezbollah and the Amal Movement are following up on this issue at the highest levels. He stressed that he will spare no effort to release the abducted, adding that the Lebanese state must do the same.

Nasrallah called on everyone to cooperate in order to solve this problem, urging residents not to cut off roads.

Nasrallah warned that some may capitalize on this abduction for their own purposes.

Hezbollah MP Ali Ammar said that the women and some of the men who were aboard the bus are safe under the protection of the Syrian official authorities. He called on the government to contact influential parties and figures to release the pilgrims immediately.

A Hezbollah source earlier told LBCI that the blood of Dahiyeh’s residents is boiling, adding that the party began contacting key figures, calling for the release of the 12 captured Lebanese.

For his part, the brother of the campaign’s organizer told LBCI that the Free Syrian Army released the women in the region of Ajaj in Aleppo, adding that the Free Syrian Army called on the Syrian army to release some detainees in exchange for the release of the captured Lebanese citizens.

In a related context, the airport road was reopened after being cut off at Al-Rassoul Al-Aazam by relatives of the abducted Lebanese citizens.

Source